As of November 2026, about 400 pairs of Philippine eagles are estimated to be left in the wild. The eagle is listed as Critically Endangered. A 2023 study by the Philippine Eagle Foundation estimated that the forests could support an average of 392 pairs, in a range of 318 to 447 pairs. That estimate came from a habitat model and the home range size of tracked eagles. It did not come from counting every eagle.
One study followed six breeding adult Philippine eagles on Mindanao. Four were females and two were males. They wore GPS trackers from April 2013 to September 2021, and the trackers collected 80,481 location fixes. Four of the six wore battery-powered Argos-GPS transmitters. The other two wore solar-powered GPS-GSM transmitters. A home range is the area an eagle uses. In that study the typical home range of the eagles was between 39 and 68 square kilometers, depending on the method used to calculate it.
The tracked adult eagles spent 75 to 80 percent of their time outside their core territory, the main part of their home area, probably while searching for food. A separate report on six GPS-tracked adults said all six showed site fidelity. That means they kept to the same areas. The six spent half their time within a 1,200 hectare area. The same report said a Philippine eagle pair needs at least 6,800 hectares (68 square kilometers) of range. A pair of Philippine eagles has a territory of 60 to 130 square kilometers.
Philippine eagles generally prefer areas with 70 to 80 percent forest cover as habitat. They live from sea level up to about 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) in the mountains. According to National Geographic in 2019, the Philippines has lost almost 75 percent of its forests since the start of the 20th century. Losing forest is the biggest danger to Philippine eagles.
Now look at how the eagle raises its young. A mother lays only one egg at a time, and Philippine eagles usually breed only once every two to three years. Both parents protect and feed the chick for 7 to 8 weeks.
Words to know
- estimated: a careful guess
- transmitters: tracker devices
- fidelity: staying in place
- habitat: natural home
- territory: home area
